Infrared has died
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ratkindler
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:15 pm
Infrared has died
I've got an IP3M-956W that I've had for several years but all of a sudden the infrared illumination started flashing, getting low and then high and then only part of the field of view was illuminated. Finally they all went dead. I've tried a camera reboot as well as unplugging it for an hour. After plugging it in, it went through that variable illumination again and died in a few minutes. Changing the IR to manual didn't do anything. Is there anything that can be done or is it the end of IR for this camera?
Re: Infrared has died
Well it is going to be hard to say really. My guess is that the Gel packs haven't been changed and the insides started to get moist and has caused water damage on the IR board? Or they went out.. I mean the life of ir is normally like 25,000 hours or more depending on the build quality. So the Gel packs in the 956EB anyway, there are 3 on the dome, and there is 2 under the PCB. To gain access to the ones under the PCB isn't something everyone should try to tackle. However removing 3 screws on the PCB and the 1 that holds the camera bracket after removing the 2 that hold the camera and the PCB comes out. It will fill still connected because there is a Chip Chill pad that it will be stuck to. This isn't no big deal just gentle lifting of the PCB after everything is unscrewed it will come out..
About the IR that is something that might be little harder. I mean you could replace them if you had the Right IR and might as well do them all. There is 24 in all. However your best bet would be to buy a Donor camera. There are many different types of cameras that are the same size and offer some type of IR. I have some that I like more then the 956EB cameras IR that only have 2 IR's that I could source and could work. Some cameras it is just take the IR cover off.. However on the 956EB anyway unclip the camera from the holder, the camera is screwed into the IR Cover/holder so it would have to be removed and changed over to the other holder. Even with a swap say from a Amcrest 751 that has the same type of IR setup, The 751 would need to be removed from holder and the 956 will need to be added back. Keep in mind that the camera is using a very thin ribbon cable and it would be best to remove from the camera making note what way it was connected. Take a Sharpie and mark the blue side of the cable and the connector that is the best way to know you will put it back in the same way..
You don't need to remove the camera from the holder to take out the IR/Camera part. IF you look at the camera with the top off you will notice there are 3 clips that hold the front of the camera on to the base, I use a Cornwell SDP-P400 pick to lift 2 of the tabs and the camera comes out of the holder, Then remove the Ribbon cable, and then there will be a 4 pin wire that runs from the IR to the camera, Unplug that from the IR board. There is another 2 wire for the IRC, Just leave that connected because that is connected to the front of the camera. Then on the IRC wire side is a screw about mid center remove that, and then on the other side same area and that will move the camera from the IR cover. The IR is still screwed into the cover (No need to remove if you doing a swap) if you are going to replace the IR or repair the IR Board then it will need to be removed from cover as well, That is with 2 screws.
If you look on Ebay, You can find parts cameras for cheap most times. G4, ADT, Dahua and others that look the same as long as they are same sized cameras most times you can swap form 1 system to another. Cameras no. IR yes. Just need to make sure they are running on the same voltage and most of the ones I have sourced for 1 reason or another are just the same with different type of camera but IR was the same. Don't buy a ADT 3mp and try to swap out the camera to the Amcrest they are different and will not work. The IR's do but cameras won't..
Gel pack picture from Stock 956EB. I didn't' take it down to show the one under the PCB. There are some there..
About the IR that is something that might be little harder. I mean you could replace them if you had the Right IR and might as well do them all. There is 24 in all. However your best bet would be to buy a Donor camera. There are many different types of cameras that are the same size and offer some type of IR. I have some that I like more then the 956EB cameras IR that only have 2 IR's that I could source and could work. Some cameras it is just take the IR cover off.. However on the 956EB anyway unclip the camera from the holder, the camera is screwed into the IR Cover/holder so it would have to be removed and changed over to the other holder. Even with a swap say from a Amcrest 751 that has the same type of IR setup, The 751 would need to be removed from holder and the 956 will need to be added back. Keep in mind that the camera is using a very thin ribbon cable and it would be best to remove from the camera making note what way it was connected. Take a Sharpie and mark the blue side of the cable and the connector that is the best way to know you will put it back in the same way..
You don't need to remove the camera from the holder to take out the IR/Camera part. IF you look at the camera with the top off you will notice there are 3 clips that hold the front of the camera on to the base, I use a Cornwell SDP-P400 pick to lift 2 of the tabs and the camera comes out of the holder, Then remove the Ribbon cable, and then there will be a 4 pin wire that runs from the IR to the camera, Unplug that from the IR board. There is another 2 wire for the IRC, Just leave that connected because that is connected to the front of the camera. Then on the IRC wire side is a screw about mid center remove that, and then on the other side same area and that will move the camera from the IR cover. The IR is still screwed into the cover (No need to remove if you doing a swap) if you are going to replace the IR or repair the IR Board then it will need to be removed from cover as well, That is with 2 screws.
If you look on Ebay, You can find parts cameras for cheap most times. G4, ADT, Dahua and others that look the same as long as they are same sized cameras most times you can swap form 1 system to another. Cameras no. IR yes. Just need to make sure they are running on the same voltage and most of the ones I have sourced for 1 reason or another are just the same with different type of camera but IR was the same. Don't buy a ADT 3mp and try to swap out the camera to the Amcrest they are different and will not work. The IR's do but cameras won't..
Gel pack picture from Stock 956EB. I didn't' take it down to show the one under the PCB. There are some there..
- 20230705_033721.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 1335 times
- 20230705_034301_resized.jpg (970.57 KiB) Viewed 1335 times
Be Safe.
Re: Infrared has died
May want to investigate the power supply before doing all that!
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ratkindler
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:15 pm
Re: Infrared has died
The camera itself works fine. Could there still be a problem with the power supply that would only affect the IR?
Re: Infrared has died
Yes. IR requires additional power to function beyond what the camera needs. Any number of things could interfere with that, including the power supply simply going south. Not very common with low voltage power supplies, but possible. Make sure whatever you're using is rated correctly for the camera. A typical power supply will be 12VDC/2A.
Re: Infrared has died
Could be power supply but I think it's ir. If you have a multi meter you could test. Here is something that I would do, log into the WebUI and go to area for IR. Change to right area (normally day) is full time set up so using the settings for day/night change to b/w then ir manual turn on 100%. Then test the IR connector. If there is voltage then it should be OK. Disconnect and double check voltage if it goes over normal output it might be because of a short in the ir if stays about same then not a short and means defective ir's. However if ir voltage is 0 or close to it the IR driver on camera board is bad and will need repair.
Be Safe.
Re: Infrared has died
So to expand on my last reply. J2 on my 956 of the IR board has 4 wires each has different Voltages. I put the day&night on b/w and changed ir to 100% pin 1 voltage was 12v running about 11.67. Would have been higher however my starting voltage was only 11.95 as sharing that power with 4 other camera. Pin 4 was around 1v at full ir and under 1v at 0% ir. There was 3v and about 8v on 3 and pin 2 respectively. This isn't an absolute guide just so you had something to reference to. If there is no voltage or extreme low voltages on pin 1 and or 2 then camera pcb will need troubleshooting. With ir set to 0% the running voltage was show on pin 1 of J2 on IR pcb my case 11.95vdc
Be Safe.